Your morning jolt: Tuesday was a good day for Nathan Deal, Zell Miller
To no one’s surprise, the 12th District contest to pick a Republican opponent for U.S. Rep. John Barrow, D-Augusta, turned out to be the closest race of the evening.
State Rep. Lee Anderson of Grovetown, with the help of Gov. Nathan Deal, edged out Augusta businessman and self-funder Rick Allen by a mere 154 votes out of 27,406 cast.
The Associated Press indicates that six precinct boxes are outstanding.
But if those results hold, Gov. Nathan Deal would emerge as the winner of Tuesday evening. State Rep. Doug Collins, the governor’s choice in the 9th District race, easily defeated former radio talk show host Martha Zoller.
Worried about the anti-incumbent fever that still lingered from the TSPLOST debacle in July, Deal kept a low profile in each contest until the final weekend, when he boosted Collins and Anderson in robocalls throughout the two districts.
The former governor of Alaska is now 0-for-2 in Georgia races. Sarah Palin had endorsed Zoller, though she made no personal appearance to back up her choice. Palin had also endorsed Karen Handel in the 2010 Republican race for governor.
The 9th District race had pitted north Georgia mountain sentiments against the tea party tidal wave. Zell Miller, the former governor and U.S. senator, had backed Collins – his grandson, Bryan Miller, was Collins’ campaign manager.
Speaker David Ralston can be counted as a victor as well. One of his House members – Collins – is all but guaranteed to be in Washington on January. And Anderson will have an instant $1 million at his back from the National Republican Congressional Committee to take on Barrow.
***
The Aug. 21, 2012 primary runoffs were a collection of mad, three-week dashes that you’re not likely to see again. The U.S. Department of Justice has demanded that Georgia change its election calendar in order to guarantee that overseas military voters are able to cast their ballots.
Georgia could simply abandon primary runoffs, as many states have — although this is unlikely, given that Gov. Nathan Deal won his GOP nomination via that runoff with Karen Handel.
More likely, statewide primaries will be pushed into June, and runoff campaigns will become leisurely, six- or eight-week affairs.
***
A rare coalition of Democrats and Republicans in Bibb County on Tuesday failed to save Miriam Paris, the former Macon councilwoman who lost the state Senate seat she won in a special election last year.
The Democratic runoff was a re-match with former state Rep. David Lucas, a 37-year veteran of the House. From the Macon Telegraph:
During this campaign, like last year’s, [Lucas] painted Paris as a “Republican pawn” who signed off on new area voting maps that Lucas said diluted minority voting strength in Macon.
That included a new map for District 26 that added more rural voters by adding Washington and Hancock counties and southern Jones County.
Paris refuted those claims by describing herself as a “fourth-generation Democrat.”
The campaign heated up late when a mailer arrived in homes last week accusing Lucas of being “asleep on the job” during his long legislative career. The flier, which featured a photo of Lucas yawning on the House floor, was sent out by a group calling itself Georgia Forward.
***
The AJC’s Politifact Georgia today takes a look at Clayton County’s boasts about its school system’s teachers.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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67 comments Add your comment
yellowdog
August 22nd, 2012
12:28 pm
i hope victor hill will be indicted on all counts. he is scum. not to mention the folks who voted him in. not sure about kimbrough; didnt he have a sexual harrassment suit against him; where aare the good people who do the right thing? drummed out by unethical “christian” republicans. certainly these two are not. cayton county and dekalb county have much to answer for………as someone once said, georgia is a laughing stock………..
Carol
August 22nd, 2012
12:44 pm
First let me say that I don’t live in Clayton County, but I’ve been watching the politics of that county for a few years. And I’ve heard comments on radio shows from voters.
The voters in Clayton County aren’t stupid. They had a choice of two people. Personally I thought Victor Hill was a thug during his first term. I was happy to see Kimbrough get the job. I perceived him as more polished and less confrontational. But since he has taken over, he hasn’t been much better in my opinion. He merely seemed more savvy in his methods. Until you started hearing about the charges against Hill, that happened to pop up just a few months before the election.
The whole issue with Kimbrough and people in his office (particularly females) was the beginning of seeing a different side of him. Then the charges against Hill, many of which seem trumped up and involved underhanded activity to obtain was of concern to me.
So from the many comments I heard from potential Clayton County voters, they believed that Hill made criminals feel very unwelcome in Clayton County. They were also disgusted with what they felt were low-ball tactics towards him during the election cycle. Again, they had two choices. They chose the one they felt was more honest, straightforward and would keep their County safer flawed as he may be.
Georgia elected a man at the brink of bankruptcy and facing ethic charges both in the state and at the Federal level, but want to jump on Victor Hill who had charges brought against him from a political opponent, please.
ideas
August 22nd, 2012
12:47 pm
Clayton County…ummmm, Victor Hill supporters who also supported Obummer. Now let me see, how intelligent are these people? This is why then need a voter education law. If you cannot answer two little question at the polls, you cannot vote. Like who is the current VP and who is the chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. My guess over 50% of these voters would be sent packing. Of course most call themselves Dimbocrats anyhow.
Carol
August 22nd, 2012
12:51 pm
20/20
I would like to know why you turned down your chance to be a VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, even on a Dimbocratic ticket
+++++++
You could have the moral courage to do what Chris Christie did and acknowledge that he was not ready to be the party nominee for President. I admire that about him. He wants to do this on his own term (if in fact that is his aspiration) and when he feels that he could do a good job. Just running to get the other man out is apparently not how he wanted his presidency to be portrayed.
Carol
August 22nd, 2012
12:53 pm
ideas
If you polled a lot of your brethren north of Atlanta or in very rural South Georgia you might find the same results. Be careful what you wish for. And don’t forget SEVERAL of the Repub officials here in Georgia are party-switchers. Several stuck their finger up in the air and tested the wind before doing so. Ask Sonny who gave us gas deregulation here in GA just before switching.
Carol
August 22nd, 2012
12:54 pm
Auntie Christie you have been all the way life the past couple of days!!!!
Auntie Christ
August 22nd, 2012
1:02 pm
td
August 16th, 2012
8:36 pm
Referring to balfour:
….This was aired fully, he was fined and is paying back the money. I personally would have voted against him if I lived in his district but it is the voters choice and responsibility to determine if they still want him to represent them in the state Senate.
************************************************************************
It’s okay if gwinnett voters want balfour to represent them, but if clayton voters want hill to be their sheriff, that’s not okay? That’s called hypocrisy. Of course you don’t see it as that, because balfour’s constituents are White, ergo they can’t be criticized. Many of hill’s voters are Black, ergo you must mention the ‘intelligence level’ of clayton voters. (of course cry ‘race card’ but I can’t be doing that, because we all know you’re not racist, are you.)
And, I would think a law and order type like you would be screaming something about hill not being convicted of anything, he is only indicted. If he is not convicted of a crime why should he not serve?
I am sure that IF we had an ethical AG, balfour would be indicted, instead we have a repub crony who will not indict him for the crime he committed, which was theft by deception. What would a big time businessman/job creator like you do if one of your employees had drawn a pay check based on a time sheet showing they were on the job, when they were in fact in Nawlins having a good time. You would have them arrested and charged. Why hasn’t our ‘ethical’ repub AG done as much to balfour?
If balfour were ever to be indicted as he should be, you’ll be the first to post here that “he hasn’t been convicted, only indicted…” because you are a hypocrite.
Auntie Christ
August 22nd, 2012
1:21 pm
Carol
August 22nd, 2012
12:53 pm
ideas
If you polled a lot of your brethren north of Atlanta or in very rural South Georgia you might find the same results.
**********************************************
Carol what you see manifested here with people like ‘ideas’, td, 2020 et al is the Freudian defense mechanism called “projection,” wherein a person who has a reprehensible or undesirable trait, tries to ‘project’ that trait onto another person in an effort to hide the flaw from their own ego. Thus you have stupid people calling someone else stupid, in an effort to deal with their deficiency. It’s sad, makes you feel sorry for them, especially when they can’t see how transparent their projection is.
honested
August 22nd, 2012
1:30 pm
td,
It doesn’t really matter if balfour ‘paid back the money’ (at least the amount he ’settled’ on), what he did was theft.
If we still had an Attorney General in this State, that THEFT would be worthy of careful examination and probably prosecution.
But since both have an ‘r’ in their title they get a pass and things continue along the long, slow, spiraling slide that has been standard since 2003.
td
August 22nd, 2012
1:34 pm
Auntie Christ (I am black and voted for Victor Hill)
August 22nd, 2012
1:02 pm
Now you attack Sam Olens (More then likely your next governor after Deal), for not doing what you perceive to be a crime, as unethical. I have never heard a hint of any ethics issues about our AG and you have not either but you throw out that charge.
You just do not like it because you know look like a moronic voter for voting for Hill. Deflect if you want too but that is the truth.
honested
August 22nd, 2012
1:54 pm
td,
I guess you’re right (sarcasm), there’s no reason to expect the Attorney General to enforce the law now is there?
That might interfere with the business interests of the campaign contributors that bought and paid for state government.
Auntie Christ
August 22nd, 2012
1:54 pm
td
August 22nd, 2012
1:34 pm
Auntie Christ (I am black and voted for Victor Hill)
I am white and live in DeKalb moron. I don’t know victor hill, don’t care about victor hill, and I don’t know why you should either, but you started a thread questioning the intellect of Clayton Co voters, exposing once again your blatant hypocrisy, which I have pointed out to you all morning, but you are too dim to comprehend.
An AG who does not prosecute an admitted thief, a crime that was admitted to by the perp, is corrupt. It is cronyism at its worst. How are you going to counter argue that?
cc
August 22nd, 2012
2:04 pm
Gerald:
I’m glad you’re not buying because I’m not selling. The only thing you’d probably buy is some far left of center idea, and I’m fresh out of those and expecting none to arrive.
honested
August 22nd, 2012
2:36 pm
cc
So what do you do when GA runs out of Voters who are not dumb enough to buy the conserrrrrrrvative line any more.
Eventually things have to improve or the Voters will be left with no choice but to blame those who have had an iron grip on power for the last decade.
20/20
August 22nd, 2012
3:14 pm
A. Christ @1.21p.m.;
I can’t believe this!! You too, have finally awakened and looked in the mirror to see the very manifestation of your posting!! Congratulations to you, too, Auntii!!
“..the Freudian defense mechanism called “projection,” wherein a person who has a reprehensible or undesirable trait, tries to ‘project’ that trait onto another person in an effort to hide the flaw from their own ego.
BTW: Do you think you’ve had any luck actually “projecting” your pitiful trait of foul-mouth to others?
YAWN
Union stooge Get Educated blog distorts issues
August 22nd, 2012
7:06 pm
Continuing “debate” on AJC’s Get Schooled blog about charter schools—is between teachers’ union shills … and teachers’ union shills!
With AJC “moderator” Maureen Downey making a cynical mockery of presenting the issue.
The teachers’ unions, represented locally by the Georgia Association of Educators, are steadfastly against education reform and parental choice. State Schools Superintendent John Barge’s decision to break with other Republicans and oppose the charter school constitutional amendment on November’s ballot plays into their hands.
And predictably, Ms. Downey is doing all she can to see that the anti-parental choice viewpoint is heard—while BLOCKING from comment those of us who advocate for greater choice and freedom to innovate.
Which is why I’m posting here instead.
Edmund Ruffin
August 23rd, 2012
8:09 am
It is sad, another Gold Dome puppet in the Congressional delegation. That bunch thought they would reelect the BOC Chairman in Henry County and the Henry County voters rejected them.